The Family Tracy
by S.A.Lovelace
Summary: Amelia Tracy is the youngest of all Jeff and Lucy Tracy's children. Watch as Amelia grows up in the shadow of her amazing brothers and tries to figure out who she is along the way. It's especially difficult when your family also happens to be the Thunderbirds. Sister-Fic
1. Baby Amelia

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Thunderbirds or its wonderful characters. Just Amelia**

 **The Family Tracy**

 **Chapter One: Congratulations**

Jeff couldn't believe it; a girl in the Tracy family. She was in fact the first girl to be born into the family in three generations. It hadn't been easy though. Lucy, his beautiful wife, and him had been surprised to find out they were expecting for the sixth time. After their last child the doctors had told them that the chances of them conceiving again were near impossible. Against all the odds they had and a daughter none the less.

He could already tell his daughter had the Tracy fighting spirit in her. The smallest Tracy had only been born fourteen hours ago and they had already almost lost her. She had been born eight weeks early and the doctors had informed him that she was struggling to breathe on her own. Baby Tracy, the name the hospital staff was calling her since they hadn't named her yet, was holding her own against all odds.

"Dad!"

Jeff turned to see all five of his son approaching him from down the corridor. He hadn't seen them since Lucy had gone into labor. This would be the first time they'd see their new sister.

"Hello, boys." He greeted them w/ a tired smile.

He could instantly tell his two oldest, Scott and John, were exhausted. Those two had been in charge of watching their younger siblings. Since Lucy had gone into labor early his mother had not been in town to watch the boys for them. She was on her way back now.

"Do we get to see the new baby now?" asked Jeff's second youngest, Gordon. He had been the most excited to learn about the new addition to the family.

This was the news he had been dredging tell them. How does a father explain this situation to five children all under the age of ten?

"Where's mommy?" Alan, the youngest, wined. He had been having the hardest time w/ this change. He still had yet to fully understand why his mother was not there. Being the youngest up until then, Alan had always been the closest to Lucy.

W/ a heavy sigh Jeff picked Alan up "You'll get to see her in a little bit. Your mom is resting right now."

"Dad, is everything alright?" Virgil, the perceptive middle son, asked.

"Yeah, why isn't the new baby w/ mom?" Scott added. The eldest Tracy had been through this four times before and they had always met the newest addition in their mother's hospital room.

John piped in "Something is wrong, isn't it?"

"Sit down boys and I'll explain everything." Jeff spoke motioning to a group of chairs against the waiting room wall.

Once they all had pick a seat, except Alan who hadn't wanted to be put down so stayed on his father's lap, Jeff looked at his sons.

"Here's what going on boys." Jeff began trying to think how to word everything so that they'd understand. "Your mother and the baby are going to be fine."

He let that sink in for a moment. He needed to make sure he reinforced that before continuing "You all have a new baby sister."

Smiles appeared on four of his fives sons' faces. Alan hadn't really been paying attention, but he was still too young to really comprehend what was happening. Scott, John, Virgil, and Gordon hadn't been told if they were getting brother or sister. He and Lucy had wanted it to be a surprise.

Now was the difficult news "Your sister was born a little too soon though. So she's going to have to stay in a special room until she's a little bigger."

Jeff tried to put it in simple terms so that they could understand, but the two eldest could easily read between the lines and both shared a look of worry. Scott and John let their father continue though.

"So w/ that being said I don't want you to be scared when you see her. There will be a lot of machines around her, but they are there to help her. They help w/ keeping her healthy so that she can get stronger." He looked at each of the boys. "Understand?"

They all nodded their heads in understanding.

"Now can we see the baby?" Gordon spoke, ever the impatient one.

Finally an amused smile spread across Jeff's face, "Yes Gordon, we can go see you baby sister now."

The five brothers and their father gathered around the large window that looked into the Neo Natal Unit and Jeff pointed out the newest member of the family to them. Jeff had to hold up Alan and Scott helped Gordon to see into the room.

"She is right over there."

Baby Tracy was laying in a small cot, w/ plastic cover over her, and wrapped in a light pink blanket and a pink cap on her head. They could slightly make out two tiny hands and two tiny feet, but that was about all they could see of their sister w/ all of wires and tubes surrounding her.

"She's so little." Virgil spoke first as he looked up worriedly at his father. Jeff simply ruffled the dark hair on top of his head in reassurance.

"Does she have a name yet?" John asked still taking in his baby sister.

The older Tracy sighed and readjusted his hold on Alan, "No, your mother and I are still deciding."

"Are you going to name her after another astronaut?" inquired Scott.

"No." Jeff answered. "She won't let me."

This got a laugh out of his four oldest. Alan still had a frown on his face. He didn't seem interested in the newest family member.

"Mommy!" Alan shrieked trying to wiggle free of his father's hold. Tears began to fall down his chubby cheeks.

"Shhh, Alan." Jeff hushed the three year old. It had been almost a whole day since he had seen his mother; it only made sense that he'd be fussy. "Alright son, let's go see if your mother is awake yet. Come on boys, we'll come back later."

"Bye-bye baby." Gordon spoke giving the baby a small wave.

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The Tracy baby fought hard for the next three weeks. Staying true to the Tracy stubbornness she grew stronger w/ each passing day. The doctors were confident that her premature birth would not affect her development in her later life. This was great news to her mother and father and finally after being in the hospital for three weeks they had been told they could bring their baby girl home. There was just one last thing to do before they did.

"She has to have a name dear." Lucy said teasingly to her husband; looking down at her daughter in her arms. "We can't call her 'baby girl' her whole life."

Jeff laughed putting an arm around her "I have given many suggestions for names. You keep turning them all down."

"Well none of them have fit her." Lucy argued. Her husband had wanted to name their sons' after astronauts and that had been fine w/ her, she loved all their boys' names, but this was her only daughter. Her daughter needed a name as beautiful and sweet as she was.

"You know they won't let us take her home until we do." Jeff said.

Lucy ignored her husband and stared deeply in to the baby girls deep blue eyes. This little girl had definitely taken after the Tracy side of the family w/ those stunning blue eyes and soft light blonde hair. Many people had joked that Tracy's couldn't have girls, but that never stop Lucy from hoping. Even when she was a child herself she dreamed of having a daughter to spoil. All of her baby play dolls were girls and Lucy would always name them after her childhood hero. Then it came to her.

"Amelia..."

"What was that dear?" Jeff asked not quite hearing what she said.

Lucy looked up at Jeff w/ her burnt honey eyes he loved so much and smiled brightly "Amelia. Her name is Amelia."

"Amelia?" Jeff spoke slowly testing out the name. "Amelia, I think it's perfect."

Lucy gently handed Jeff his daughter "Amelia Tracy, it fits her don't you think?"

Jeff gently held up Amelia w/ a grin on his face "Hello Amelia. I love you baby girl.", and then softly kissed her forehead.

Tears weld up in Lucy's eyes at the scene before her. Only a couple weeks ago she had thought that she was going to lose her daughter. She had never been more relieved than when she had awaken and Jeff had assured her that their baby was alive and doing well, considering her rough start to the world. Now here they were naming her and taking her home.

Seeing the tears in his wife's eyes, Jeff leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before saying "Shall we take her home now?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Lucy beamed. "I'm sure the boys are driving your mother crazy by now."

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"Hey guys Mom and Dad are back!" Scott yelled as he saw Dad's car pull up the long driveway.

A stampede of feet could be heard from every part of the house as each of his brother's came running to the front door. Each of them where jockeying to see out the door's window at their parents getting out of the car. The boys had been told that morning that their sister was coming home and had hardly been able to contain their excitement all afternoon waiting.

"Now boys remember," Grandma Tracy said as she also came to the door w/ Alan in her arms. It had been a long day for her w/ trying to keep five overly excited boys wrangled up, but she couldn't blame them. She was excited too. She had never thought in a million years she'd have a granddaughter in the Tracy family. "Your sister is still very small so you have to be especially careful around her. So no rough housing."

The boys were only half listening to her. They were more interested w/ that this would be the first time they all got to see their baby sister w/o a glass wall between them. Children hadn't been allowed into the Neo Natal Unit at the hospital so none of them had had a chance to hold her yet.

Jeff walked through the door first carrying the bags. He had to smile at the egger looks on four of his sons' faces. Lucy entered just behind him w/ a small pink bundle in her arms that held the newly named Amelia.

"Hello boys." She greeted all of them. "Boys, I'd like you to meet you baby sister, Amelia Joy Tracy."

Grandma Tracy smiled at the name and placed Alan on the floor so that she could have a closer look. "That's a wonderful name dear. I was worried you'd let my son name her after some astronaut."

"No mother." Jeff resisted rolling his eyes at her. He knew she would not hesitate to scold him if he did. "Lucy picked the name herself and I love it."

Lucy gave Jeff a teasing look as she passed the small bundle to her mother-in-law. Ruth smiled down at the baby "Amelia is a wonderful name dear. It fits her perfectly."

"Alright, who wants to hold Amelia?" Lucy announced to her five sons.

The next hour each boy got to hold their sister. John got to hold her first. He was the most gentled natured out of all the boys so it only made sense. It would take some time for the others to stop fidgeting w/ excitement. After about five minutes of John holding her the others were finally calm enough to get a turn. Scott got to hold her second. It was a sweet scene to see, the oldest and the youngest Tracy siblings together. Scott also had the most experience w/ holding babies so he was able to do most of the holding w/o help and he was proud of himself for that. Virgil came next, she had fussed a little at first being placed in his tiny arms, both his parents had been surprised when he started singing one of Lucy's lullabies to her and she settled right down. Gordon was the most difficult seeing as he had a hard time sitting still for any length of time, but he finally was able to do it w/ his mother's help. He beamed proudly at his little sister. He held her the longest, not wanting to give her up.

Then it was Alan's turn. Lucy called over to her youngest son. She had been worried about him. Alan had not said a word or even acknowledged his sister since they had been home. "Alan come here and see Amelia."

"No." he said stubbornly and crossed his arms. Both parents had noticed that Alan hadn't taken any interest in Amelia and shared a look of concern.

"Allie, please come here. Amelia wants to meet you." Lucy tried again, but he refused once more.

Before either parent could address him though Gordon yelled out "Can I have his turn then?"

"You can't have his turn Gordy!" Scott said sternly. "You just got done holding her."

"So?" the red haired child argued back. "I wanna hold her again."

"Boys, no arguing." Jeff said stopping the conversation before it got out of hand. "I think it's time we let your mother and Amelia got some rest."

"I think that's a good idea. We both could use a nap. You all can hold her later." Lucy spoke. She looked over at Alan sadly. He had always been the most stubborn out of all of the brothers. She had hoped the toddler would warm up to his sister if he held her, but she supposed it would just take longer for him to except his little sister. He had been the baby of the family for three years and he was use to getting all the extra attention that came w/ being the youngest.

Lucy brought Amelia up to the nursery. Jeff had done a wonderful job getting it ready the past three weeks for when Amelia came home. He had painted the walls a light purple color. The white crib stood in the middle of the room complete w/ a moon and stars mobile above the small cot.

"Goodnight my sweet girl." Lucy whispered placing Amelia into her crib. She didn't seem to like being out of her mother's arms and began to fuss. Lucy brushed her daughter head and softly began to sing to her. Little Amelia was almost instantly soothed by her mother's voice and went to sleep.

Unknown to Lucy, Jeff stood at the doorway watching his wife sing their daughter to sleep. He had never been happier. He had a wonderful wife, five strong boys, and now a daughter he'd get to spoil. Life for Jeff Tracy was perfect and he couldn't imagine anything ruining this for him.

 **Review Please! And please no flames**

 **I think we all know what happens next... Until next time my Loves!**


	2. Where's Mommy?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Thunderbirds or its characters. Just Amelia.**

 **The Family Tracy**

 **Chapter Two: Where's Mommy?**

"A vacation sounds like a wonderful idea." Lucy exclaimed at her husband's idea. "We haven't been on one since Amelia was born."

"Yes, I just put in for some leave from work so we should be able to have a nice long family vacation." Jeff spoke excited to spend some time w/ his family. W/ Tracy Industries just taking off he hadn't been around much in the past year and he was determined to make it up to them.

Lucy shifted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. It was one of the rare evenings that all six kids had made it to bed on time and w/o a fuss. To celebrate they decided to open a bottle of wine and relax in front of the fireplace before heading to bed themselves.

"So where were you thinking about going?" Lucy asked. "As much as I love our children I don't really fancy chasing all six of them around at Disneyland."

Jeff laughed at the crazy notion of taking all the kids to a place like Disneyland. He was sure it would be his sons that got the park shut down. He had another idea in mind.

"No, I was thinking about going somewhere a little less hectic." He explained. "I was thinking maybe a trip to my father's old cabin up in the mountains."

"That sounds amazing!" Lucy sat up and kissed her husband on the cheek for his brilliant idea. Jeff's father had bought the cabin as a wedding present to his wife and had wanted it to stay in the family. It was a quant log cabin that Jeff's father had kept updated. The family had spent at least a couple weeks there a year before the elder Mr. Tracy passed. Only Scott, John, and Virgil had ever been there and Lucy knew Jeff desperately wanted to return there, but they had never found the time.

Enjoying his wife's enthusiasm Jeff grinned back at her "I'll take that as a 'yes' then?"

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"Scott, can you come here for a moment?" Lucy called down the stairs, over the playful screams of her children.

Scott ran up the stairs, closely followed by Virgil. The younger boy seemed to be attached to his big brother's hip now days. Not that Scott minded though, the two were similar.

"Yes, Mom?" Scott asked entering his parents' bedroom.

Lucy zipped up the last two bags on her bed, "Could you bring these down to the car for me? I have to go get your sister ready."

"Sure."

"Thank you." She replied brushing her eldest son's dark hair back off his forehead. She couldn't believe how fast her children were growing. "Virgil, could you help your brother?"

The younger boy smiled, grabbed the smaller of the three bags, and follow Scott out to the car.

"Is this who you're looking for?" her husband said exiting the nursery w/ a squirming two year old in his arms.

"I was just about to get her." Lucy said. "I thought she was still asleep."

Jeff adjusted his hold on his daughter before replying "Yeah, I found herclimbing out of the crib again."

Lucy just shook her head. Amelia had been a nightmare to handle ever since she learned how to crawl. The little Tracy girl had surprised her parents when she learned how to crawl by five months and were even more shocked when she had taken her first steps at eight months; beating Alan's record of nine months. Ever since learning how to use her little legs she was constantly climbing in and out of things. Her crib was a new one though. One night Amelia had learned how to get herself up and over her crib walls and in the morning both parents nearly had a heart attack when she wasn't in her bed. They did eventually find her asleep on the floor under Gordon and Virgil's bunk she was still too small for a normal bed Jeff and Lucy had tried everything to keep her in her crib, but nothing seemed to work. Their little girl always had a need to constantly be doing something.

"Even after five kids I still some how forget how terrible the terrible two's are." Lucy sighed brushing her hand through Amelia's blonde hair. The little girl smiled and giggled at her mother.

Jeff chuckled "Well, we did think a girl would be easier."

"Yes, we did." She grinned back. "Which was silly considering she's a Tracy."

Jeff knew he couldn't argue that "Very true, my dear."

Lucy lightly kissed him and took Amelia from him "I'll get her ready. If you could get the boys all situated? Everything is all packed, so we should be good to go."

Jeff went outside to find Alan, Gordon, and Virgil chasing each other around the yard, in some kind of game of tag. He wasn't surprised to see John sitting on the porch steps, his nose contently in a book and Scott helping his grandmother load the rest of the bags in the car.

"Boys! Come on time to get in the cars." Jeff called out to the three youngest boys, who immediately halted their game and stampeded towards the cars. "John make sure they don't wonder off." He turned and spoke to his son on the step.

John shut his book "Sure thing Dad." And went to join his brothers.

"Alright that should be everything and everyone." Lucy said walking out of the house, Amelia waddling next to her. "Everything all set out here?"

"Everything is loaded." Grandma Tracy said, walking over to her son and daughter-in-law. "Now we just have to figure out whose riding w/ who."

John step towards Lucy "I'll go w/ Mom."

Lucy smiled and wrapped her arm around John. John knew Amelia would be riding in their mother's car since that's where her car seat was and the little girl didn't do so well on trips longer then five minutes before she started screaming. He was the only brother w/ the patience to calm her down.

"Well, I want to ride w/ Dad!" Scott called out.

Virgil instantly said "I wanna be w/ Dad too!"

"Me too!" Gordon spoke, followed by Alan yelling out over top of all of them "I want to be in Dad's car!"

"No, you have to go in the other car cause that's were your car seat is Alan." Virgil said to his youngest brother grumpily.

"Yeah, besides there's no room for you." Gordon added to Virgil's comment.

Alan's face started to turn red "I don't wanna ride w/ the baby."

Both parents sighed heavily. As of recently, Alan had only been referring to his sister as "the baby" or just "her". Unlike his brothers Alan never wanted much to do w/ Amelia. When Amelia had been a baby Alan had ignored her completely, but as the two littlest Tracy's got older they had started fighting more and more. Usually, by screaming at each other.

"Not Allie!" Amelia squeaked out and latched onto her mother's leg.

"Grow up Alan!" Scott said, tired of his jealousness. Alan just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Hey!" Jeff yelled halting the argument. He could see how much it was upseting his wife. "Everyone needs to calm down." All six of his children stared up at him. Not wanting to anger their father more. "Now, Alan I'm sorry if you don't like it, but you're going to have to ride w/ your Mom, John, and Amelia. Scott, Virgil, Gordon… lay off your brother."

Lucy was thankful to her husband for stopping it before a full argument broke out. They would have never been able to leave if that happened. Scott went and got Virgil and Gordon situated in Jeff's car. John took Amelia's small hand and led her over to the other car, Alan following slowly behind.

"Thank you for handling that." Lucy said, wrapping her arms around her husband.

He kissed the top of her head and said "You and my mother get a head start. I have to quick drop something off at the office and then we'll meet you there."

"Jeff, you promised."

"I know and I promise that this is the last thing and then I'm all yours for the next two weeks." Jeff promised pulling back to look at Lucy.

"Sounds good to me." Lucy said before kissing one more time and turning to her car.

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"Oh, shoot." Lucy exclaimed as she unloaded the bags from the car. They had just arrived at the cabin and the snow was just beginning to pick up.

"What is it dear?" Grandma Tracy asked as she walked around to the back of the car. John was getting Alan and Amelia out of their car seats.

"I forgot to packthose spare diapers back at the house, so we don't have any." Lucy explained. "I think I saw a store a couple miles back down the road. I'll just have to go get some."

Grandma Tracy didn't like the idea of Lucy going back out on the road. The weather was supposed to get worse. "Why don't you call Jeff and have him pick it up on his way?"

"There's no cell phone service." She answered grabbing her bag and keys. "It'll be quicker if I go now and most likely I'll be back before Jeff arrives."

Grandma Tracy was still hesitant about it, but knew they didn't have any other options. "Alright, John and I will get everything unpacked and set."

"I'll help." Alan said running over to the two adults. John coming up behind him w/ a sleepy Amelia draped over his shoulder. She had somehow managed tostayed awake the whole car ride up into the mountains and now was exhausted.

Grandma Tracy smiled at her youngest grandson "Thank you, Alan. That will be most helpful."

"I think I'll put Amelia down for her nap and go." Lucy said, seeing how tired out her daughter was. She took her from John's arms and went inside the cabin. Luckily there was already a stowaway crib from when they last made a trip up here when Virgil was still a baby.

"Not sleepy Mommy." Amelia wined rubbing her eyes.

Lucy smiled at her daughter's stubbornness. "Sure you're not sweetie, but I think you should try anyways. Besides you want to be rested for all the things we have planned, right?"

"Right." Amelia said through a yawn.

Lucy laid her down in the crib and covered her w/ a knitted blanket. "Love you my sweet, baby girl."

"I love you, mommy." Amelia replied softly before turning over and closing her eyes. Last thing she felt before drifting off was her mother placing a kiss on her head.

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Amelia woke to the sound of someone yelling. It scared her slightly. Even at such a young age she could feel something was wrong and that made her want her mom.

"Mommy!" she called out sitting up in her cot, but there was no reply from outside the room. "Mommy!" she tried again and once more no one answered.

Growing frustrated w/ being ignored, Amelia hastily climbed out of her crib. She knew she'd be in trouble if she was caught doing this, but she didn't care at the moment.

The hallway outside the room was dark, but there was light coming from the living room down the hall. That's were Amelia heard the voices coming from. As she got closer she could hear more than one person crying and a couple voices she did not recognize talking over everything.

She then heard her father's voice "I don't understand. How do you know it was her?" He sounded angry about something. This worried her because her father rarely was angry.

"I'm sorry sir, it was her car." said a strange new voice. "The avalanche came at her too fast. She never-"

"NO!" Jeff yelled. "It's just not true. It just can't be."

"Son…" the soft voice of her grandmother said. "Please calm down."

Amelia finally decided to see what was going on and stepped into the living room. He father and grandmother were standing by the front door w/ two uniformed police officers in front of them. They both wore pained expressions on their faces. Her grandmother hand her arm around her son as he was hunched over and shaking slightly. Over by the couches sat four of her brothers. John had his arms around Gordon and Virgil was doing the same w/ Alan. Only Scott was the one standing. He stood in front of his younger brothers in an almost protective stance. All five of them had tear stains on their cheeks.

"Scottie?" cried Amelia. She was terrified at this point.

Scott turned to his baby sister w/ a pained look on his face. He didn't say anything to her. He just went over and picked her up, holding her tightly against his body.

"Scottie, I want Mommy." she requested. "Where's Mommy?"

Scott almost broke at the pleading look in his sister's eyes. He looked over at his father and grandmother for help, but both still had their full attention on whatever the police officers were telling them.

Softly, he smoothed Amelia's hair back from her face and said "Mia, you're going to have to be really brave now. Okay?"

Tears now started to fall from her eyes. She may not have been able to understand fully what was happening, but she didn't understand that something bad had happened and it would change her life forever.

 **There it is! The next chapter. Sorry if it's a little lacking w/ Amelia, but it's important to see how she becomes who she is. And plus she's only two years old in this chapter. Next chapter will be longer and possibly sadder too. Please Review and no flames please!**

 **Until next time my loves…**

 **P.S. Check out my Tumblr Fan Fiction page for updates, author notes, sneak peeks, and more! Link is on my profile page.**


	3. Stages of Grief

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Thunderbirds or its characters. Just Amelia.**

 **The Family Tracy**

 **Chapter Three: Stages of Grief**

It's always strange how the weather seems to know when to change. The days prior had been sunny and calm. This morning that all had changed as the Tracy family readied themselves for the worst day of their lives. This was day they said goodbye to their wife and mother and the early spring rain had decided to crash down from the skies.

Jeff Tracy stood in the grassy graveyard staring blankly ahead. He was trying to look anywhere else other then the casket in front of him. Only a harsh sob broke him of his concentration. Looking down the line of his sons who stood solemnly next to him, all with tears in their eyes, he saw his mother pick up Amelia who was almost hyperventilating from crying so much.

Jeff had noticed over the past few days Amelia's cries had become worse. She cried for the mother that she couldn't understand wasn't coming to sooth her. The father of six knew that he should be the one comforting her, but every time Amelia screamed it broke his heart and couldn't seemed to find the strength to hold her. To reassure his daughter that everything was alright because it wasn't. It was like that with all of his children as well and they were all starting to take notice. It was like Lucy had taken some of his strength when she died.

Holding the shaking little girl in her arms Grandma Tracy tried to calm her by rubbing circles on her back. She knew there was nothing she could say to Amelia to help her understand. Catching the eyes of her son looking over at her he quickly turned his head away. It was really starting to worry her how withdrawn her son had become to his children. All the boys and Amelia needed him more than ever now. She knew how devastating it was to lose a spouse, but at the same time Jeff should be finding courage in the fact that Lucy left him six wonderful children. She made a note to speak with him tomorrow. Today he just needed to grieve.

"Do you want me to take her Grandma?" Scott whispered from his spot next to her.

Sadly she looked over at her eldest grandson. He had changed so much in the past week. He had stepped up and taken charge of his sibling. It broke her heart. "No sweetie, I got her."

The dark haired boy simple nodded at her and turned his attention to Virgil who was standing on the other side of him, placing his arm around his shoulders.

It wasn't just Scott who had changed; Grandma Tracy had now realized looking at all of her grandsons. Each one was dealing with their mother's death differently and she mournfully hoped that this tragedy had not just cost them all their childhoods. Maybe not yet she thought to herself, but if their father didn't step up soon it would.

"Mommy..." Amelia cried into her Grandma's neck.

Not knowing what to say she simply spoke "I've got you, sweetie. Ssh." but the girl continued to weep.

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Back at the Tracy house, after all the people who had attended the funeral had left, the house was eerie silent. Grandma Tracy had left and gone to the store after realizing that there was no food in the house. Gordon was in the living room with the TV on, but wasn't really watching it. In the dining room, Virgil sat at the table drawing in his sketch book trying to distract himself. Jeff had hidden himself away in his room and was now trying to distract his thoughts with some paperwork. Scott was trying to get Alan down for a nap and John was alone in his room.

Grandma Tracy had put Amelia down to sleep before she left for the store, but the little girl was now wide awake.

"Mommy?" Amelia cried out, but there was no reply. "Mommy!" and again no one came. She couldn't understand why her mother wasn't here. She had always come before. Maybe she had done something wrong.

Growing frustrated Amelia climbed out of her crib and waddled over to her door. The house was quiet, which seemed odd for the little girl. There was always someone yelling or moving around in the house. The quiet scared her. It scared her so much that she went to the next room in the hallway and knock on the door with her tiny fist.

"Mommy?" she called out, but like all the times before received no answer. So she tried for someone else. "Daddy? Daddy?"

Jeff sat at his desk, hearing the desperate voice of his baby girl, but couldn't seem to find the strength to open the door. It broke his heart listening to her and wished she would go away. He was in no position to comfort her at that moment. Burying his head in his hands he tried to block out the pleas.

"Please. I am sorry." Amelia cried brought tears back to Jeff's eyes and yet he still didn't get up.

It was in that moment that the tiny girl began to believe that she must have done something truly terrible if both her parents wanted nothing to do with her. She wanted to be alone and knew that there was only one place where no one would find her. A place where no one would think to look for her.

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It had taken Scott a while to get Alan settled. The five year old boy hadn't really fallen asleep, but at least he was resting. His next stop was Amelia's room, wanting to make sure she was sleeping. She had been up all night the night before, but when he looked into her room his heart stopped. She wasn't in her crib.

He knew not to panic right away. Amelia climbed out of bed often and was usually in another one of her brothers' rooms.

"John?" Scott asked the brother in the next room over. "Is Mia in here?"

John was lying on his side on the bed facing the window, but turned to look at Scott. "No, why?"

"She climbed out of her bed again." Scott explained. "Will you help me look for her? Grandma will kill us if we don't find her before she gets back."

Rolling off the bed, John really didn't feel like moving, but Grandma would be mad if she found out they lost her. Even though he knew she always eventually came out of where ever she was when she eventually got hungry or bored.

The two oldest Tracy boys spent the next half hour scoring the house for their sister, but hadn't had any luck. They soon employed the help of their younger brothers to cover more if the house, but after another twenty minutes they were starting to grow worried.

"You don't think she could have walked outside?" Virgil asked as they all regrouped in the living room.

"No, she can't even reach the doorknob." John pointed out.

"Do you think we should get Dad?" Gordon asked.

Scott was growing frustrated, he hadn't even been in charge for a day and he already had lost one of his siblings. Asking their Dad for help was not an option and Grandma would be home soon. He knew she couldn't have left the house, but where ever she was this time she didn't want to be found. That worried him more.

"We can't get Dad." Scott said. "Here's what we're going to do. We are going to give the house one finally sweep. Virgil and I will look upstairs and John, you and Gordon look down here."

"Scottie!" Alan voice called out as they got to the top of the stairs.

"What is it Allie?" Scott asked knelling down to his level.

I appeared as if the little boy had just woken up as he was rubbing his eyes "There's a noise coming from my closet."

"A noise?" Virgil questioned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, a noise." Alan whined. "I think there something in my closet. Can you check for me?"

Following Alan into his room the two older boys approached the closet and Scott opening the door fully. At first he did see and thing other then the toy racecar set thrown in there, but then he heard a noise. It was so quiet he was almost sure he was hearing things, but then it happened again. It was almost like a whimper. Something then dawned on him.

Crouching down he spoke "Mia?"

The tear stained face of his baby sister appeared as she crawled out from the back of the closet. She immediately put her tiny arms around his neck.

"Have you been in there this whole time?" Virgil asked watch his little sister cling to their older brother.

"I'm sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Amelia cries into Scott's shoulder.

His heart breaks at the pleas coming from her mouth. "Ssh, Amelia it's going to be alright."

"What were you doing in my closet, stupid?" Alan complained at her.

"I not stupid!" Amelia yelled pulling away from Scott.

"Yes, you are!"

"Grow up Allie!"

"Quiet down."

"Yeah, do you wanna wake Dad up?"

Listening to his siblings argue Scott was close to exploding, but he didn't. Keeping his voice calm, but stern he called out "Everyone needs to be quiet!"

The quarrelling quickly faded out and five pairs of eyes all stared up at the eldest Tracy sibling. Scott had had enough of this. All six of them had been on edge and at each other's throats since the accident. Now was the time to rectify that.

"Everyone go to my room." Scott ordered. "It's time we talk."

John stood up first "I agree. Come on."

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

The Tracy siblings all sat on Scott's bed. It was amazing that they all fit. Amelia sat on John's lap with Gordon sitting closely next to him. Alan had attached himself to Virgil, who had his arm around him. Scott sat at the end of the bed facing them.

"Listen…" Scott began with a sigh. "This fighting and bickering has to stop. We are all we have left now and if you can't rely on your siblings to support you then all this pain we're feeling is never going to get any better. Mom..." Scott's resolve broke for a moment. He took in another breath and tried again. "She wouldn't want this. She'd want us to be strong and stand together."

With tears in his eyes, John added "Scottie's right. We have to take care of each other."

"Let promise right now that no matter what we will be there for each other." the eldest sibling suggested. "No matter what happens or how angry we make each other, we will stand together."

"I promise." John spoke immediately. Scott nodded to him.

"Me too." Virgil said next.

"And me!" Alan squealed.

Gordon nodded "I promise."

Trying to keep up with what her brother's were talking about, Amelia knew it was her turn to give some sort of response. Which she let out in the form of a high pitched squeak and nodded her head in an exaggerated motion. This brought small smiles to her brother's faces.

"What about Dad?" Alan asked his blue eyes big and round with innocence.

"Dad has his own demons he's dealing with right now." Scott explains looking down at his hands. He is only twelve years old he should have to be the one to tell his younger sibling this. That there was a good chance their Father was never going to be the same again.

"So, we'll just have to make sure to extra good care of each other." Virgil said. "Until Dad stops feeling sad."

Scott gave him a sad smile and ruffled his hair "That's right, Virge."

The room was silent for several moments. No one knew what to say. There was much more to say on the subject. After a while Amelia grew bored of this company and yawned as wide as her tiny mouth would allow. The yawn was effective as Gordon yawned and then Alan after him.

"Looks like we all could use some more sleep." John pointed out fighting back the urge to yawn himself. He pulled both Gordon and Amelia closer to him and rested his head back against the head board.

Moving up the bed, towards Virgil and Alan, Scott sat next to Virgil so that he could lay on him and Alan was lying on Virgil. It wasn't a comfortable position, but he didn't care. All six children were all sound asleep within minutes.

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

From the confides of his room, Jeff stepped out into the hallway. He had grown concern over the past hour with how quiet the house had become. The concern only grew when the first three bedrooms he checked were empty. Heart racing, Jeff opened the fourth bedroom. Normally the sight of sons and daughter sleeping huddled together would have made him smile, but when his first thought was to tell Lucy he fought back tears once more. Slowly he turned away from the sight in front of him, but voice pulled him back.

"Daddy?" Amelia sleepily spoke rubbing her eye with her tiny fist. For a brief moment she was happy. Her Dad was here, but he heart sank when he didn't go to her. Instead he reached forward and closed the door to the bedroom. Snuggling close to John a stray tear ran down her cheek.

Jeff felt guilty for ignoring his daughter, but it was in no position to comfort her.

"Son?" Grandma Tracy said from behind him. She had seen what had happened. "You can't push them away."

"I just…" he looked down at his hands in shame. "Why is it so hard Mother?"

Gently she rested her hand on his shoulder "It will get easier and never forget you have six amazing reasons to keep moving forward. Lucy may be gone, but take pride in those children she has left you with so much of herself in them."

Jeff wanted to believe her in the worst way. Oh how he wished he could believe his Mother.

 **Soooo yeah… If you follow my tumblr you know there was a bit of a delay on this story, but have no fear I have every intention of continuing it. It's just been a struggle with theses first few chapters and getting the characters right. Comment and let me know what you think please! Next chapter there is a little time jump by four years and maybe things get better or maybe not… you'll just have to stay turned to find out.**

 **Until next time my loves…**

 **P.S. An extra awesome shout out to Bedlamx28 for their review. It was the kick in the pants I need to finish this chapter. Lots of love is being thrown your way right now!**


	4. Those You Hurt Most (Part 1)

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Thunderbirds or its characters. Just Amelia.**

 **(Side Note: There has been a time jump from the last chapter by 5 years)**

The Family Tracy

Chapter Four: Those You Hurt Most (Part 1)

There were only about five hours out of the day that the Tracy household was completely quite. That's if you didn't include Gordon's monstrous snoring. The hours between 12:30am and 5:30am a rare silence took over the house. Now there were some exception to this, but those were not common. Every other hour of the day someone was yelling or doing something to make noise. That's how all of the siblings liked it though. If anything else it help them forget that their father wasn't home, because when he was the house was completely silent.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Scott reached a hand out from under the covers to stop the alarm. The red numbers glared at him as they told him it was time to wake up. There was a half hour before the rest of the younger Tracy's woke up and that gave the oldest brother just enough time to get himself and everything else ready for the day. As was his routine almost every morning.

Pulling the comforter aside he set his feet on the floor and ran a hand through his messy dark hair. He let out a yawn in the process.

"Scottie?" came a soft voice from the other side of the bed.

Remembering that Amelia had crawled into bed with him sometime last night Scott turned back to her.

"Hey, Mia." He whispered and pulled the blankets back over her. "Go back to sleep munchkin. I'll be back in a little bit."

The only response the little girl gave was her eyes shutting once again as she pulled her stuffed tiger closer to her face. Her body relaxed back into the pillows.

Scott sighed. It wasn't that he minded his baby sister crawling into bed with him, but it worried him how often it was happening recently. Amelia had been having nightmares for a couple months now. One night she had woken them all up screaming and wouldn't tell them why. Ever since then she would, every other week or so, wake up to a nightmare and wander into bed with one of her older brothers. More time then not she'd go to Scott. The concerning part was that this was the second time this week he had woken up to her in his bed.

Making his way to the bathroom, he showered and readied for the day. Then he made his way downstairs to get breakfast started. Grandma Tracy used to all this for them, but when her sister had a heart attack a couple months back she had gone to stay with her until she was back on her feet again. Scott didn't mind though, it gave him time to himself before having to take care of five younger siblings.

Like clockwork he could hear the repetitive sound of alarm clocks going off upstairs and then the stampede to the make it to one of the two bathrooms. This was then followed by the shouting of those who were too slow this morning. With breakfast mostly ready the oldest Tracy went back upstairs to bring order back to the house.

It appeared Virgil and John had been the unfortunate one this morning.

"Too slow this morning, bro?" Scott teased messing up Virgil shaggy, dark hair as he walked by.

Virgil pushed him off "We would have been first, but Gordy and Alan decided to jam our doors shut last night."

Leaning up against the wall next to the door with his arms cross, John added "Yeah, but if they don't hurry up their going to be walking to school." He yelled the last part so that their younger brother's could hear him through the door.

The door opened and Gordon smiled slyly at him "Hey, we could have easily tied you guys to the bed they way you two sleep." And then quickly side step Virgil as he reach out to punch him in the arm.

While he was distracted John was able to slide into the vacant bathroom and shut the door; further frustrating the middle brother.

Scott laughed at his brother antics as he went into his room and sat on the side of the bed. He wished he didn't have to wake her, since he knew she hadn't slept well the past couple nights, but keeping her home wasn't an option when there was no one who could stay with her. He enjoyed watch her sleep though; it was the only time she was ever still. Amelia had this thing where she always had to be moving in some way and didn't seem to stop. This was strange because she never was much of a talker, except to her brothers.

"Come on baby sister." Scott shook her shoulder. "Time to get up."

She groaned and sat up on her elbows "I'm not a baby, Scottie."

"Sure, Mia, whatever you say, but you still have to get up." He said not pointing out that she had crawled into his bed last night. "Come on."

After about three more sibling arguments and two man tackle down the stairs the Tracy siblings managed to sit down to breakfast.

"Don't forget my swim practice got changed 3:30 today." Gordon announced to Scott and John as he shoved more cereal in his mouth. It had been nice when John had gotten his driver license last month, so it wasn't just Scott with the burden of driving everyone around. With six kids all in extracurricular activities and groups it could be a bit chaotic.

John took a bit of toast before responding "Yeah, I'm going to pick you and Mia up at three sharp. So be waiting outside."

Both Amelia and Gordon nodded. Gordon had been taking swim classes for a couple years now and Amelia had been placed in gymnastics. Both classes where held at the same place.

"I have soccer practice and then I'm heading over to Andrew's after to do homework." Virgil informed his oldest brothers. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, as long as you're back before dinner and Alan you have tutoring with Mrs. Flanner after school." Scott said pouring more milk for his youngest brother. "I'll be picking you up after my meeting with the school counselor."

"Why are you meeting with the counselor?" John asked. "I thought you already sent out all of your college applications."

Scott shrugged "I did, but there are just some other options I want to discuss."

"Like what?" Amelia piped in through a mouth full of eggs.

"Nothing that needs to said right now." The eldest Tracy brushed of the subject, he then asked Amelia if she was finished and helped her take her plate to the sink. His brothers, John and Virgil especially, were a little wary on what Scott said, but didn't ask further questions.

As everyone finished breakfast they took turns cleaning their own dishes and grabbing what they needed for the day at school.

"Mia! Alan!" Virgil called up the stairs as he tied his shoes. "Come on!"

Alan appeared from the top of the stairs and came running down throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

"Where's your sister?" Virgil asked.

Alan shrugged "She can't find her other shoe." and then continued on to the kitchen.

"And you didn't think to help her look?" the middle Tracy called after him shaking his head and headed up to help. When he got to her room he found her half hidden under her bed looking like she was trying to reach for something. "Mia, come on, we're going to be late."

"I can't find my other butterfly sneaker." She called from under the bed.

"Don't you have another pair you can wear?"

Pulling out from under the bed she glared at her older brother. "Not one that matches my sparkly headband."

"Then why don't you wear your sandals with the sparkles on them?" Virgil pointed to the sandals by her door.

Amelia huffed and rolled her eyes "You can't wear sparkly shoes and a sparkly headband together. That would be _way_ too much."

Shaking his head at the seven year olds logic Virgil responded "Okay, sis. I'll help you look." and joined her on the floor.

Back downstairs the rest of the Tracy's had gathered, ready to go, waiting to leave. It was quiet since they were still trying to wake up. It was quiet until a loud metal grinding noise could be heard throughout the kitchen and living room; this was also recognized as the sound of the garage door opening.

"Did you open the garage door, John?" Scott asked his brother who had just walk into the living room from the kitchen.

"No." he answered confused. "I was going to ask you who else would have a key."

"Maybe it's Grandma?" Gordon said climbing over the back of the couch to join the conversation.

Scott shook his head "No, I talked to her last night. She would have said if she was coming home."

All the brothers shared a look of confusion before a slow realization came to them.

John was the first to voice it. "You don't think-", but he was cut off as the door from the garage open and shut.

Their father stood in the kitchen staring at his sons; it was obvious he didn't expect them to still be home. This was the first time in two weeks they had seen him.

"Dad!" Alan broke the awkward silence and ran up to Jeff. Out of all the kids Alan was the only one who still was comfortable around him, but they had all been like that at a certain point, before he had slowly let each of them down. They all had hoped that that wouldn't happen to Alan.

"Hello, Alan." Jeff spoke hesitantly and patted his youngest son on the head. He really didn't know what to say. Luckily, Scott beat him to it.

"We were just leaving for school, sir." He said straightening his posture.

Jeff opened his mouth to respond, but stopped at the sound of two more of his children coming down the stairs.

"I found me shoe!" Amelia announced proudly not seeing that her father was there.

Holding his little sister's hand Virgil informed "Yeah, seems she taken to hiding her shoes in-" he stopped though when he noticed Jeff standing in the kitchen.

Confused, Amelia followed Virgil's line of sight and gasped, but not out of happiness from seeing her father. Her eyes grew round and quickly let go of Virgil hand so that she could latch on to Scott's leg; refusing to look at her absent father. Unfortunately, where Alan still had hope in their father Amelia did not. The few times he was in the house she refused to talk to him or hid in her room.

Not wanting to make the situation more uncomfortable then it already was Scott ordered "Come on guys, we're late enough as it is." He picked up Amelia so that he could walk and headed for the door. All of his brothers' followed behind him.

"Bye, Dad." Alan said giving Jeff a slight hug before following everyone else out of the house. The small boy turned at the door though and asked "Will we see you after school?" his eyes filled with hope.

"Possibly." Jeff simply answered. He wasn't sure if he would be needed back at the offices tonight.

That was all Alan needed to hear as a large smile spread across his face as he turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Setting his briefcase down on the kitchen table, Jeff wondered over to the window and watched his six beautiful children get into the cars. His heart ached painfully. They were all growing up so fast and he knew he was missing it. Scott wasn't a kid anymore and would be off to college in the next year. John who was always so quiet and withdrawn was now helping out more with his siblings. Virgil had grown considerably in the past year to where he was no longer a gangly kid, but a well built, athletic teenager. Along with Gordon's childish features which were now fading, but still ever the outgoing troublemaker. Alan, who from what he briefly could see, still had this fierce determination to follow his older brothers. Jeff wondered if his youngest son still had that temper that could shake the whole house. It broke his heart knowing that Alan somehow still had faith in him as their father, but he knew he didn't deserve it.

Then there was his baby girl…

Jeff didn't even let his mind go there for fear of not being able to function for the rest of the day. He knew the mistake he was making with his children, but somewhere along the way he had come to realize that he pushed his children away. Now they all seemed to become reliant with each other that he wondered if they still needed him.

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

"Bye, Johnny!" Amelia waved as John drove off from dropping her, Gordon, and Alan off at the elementary and middle school building.

"Mia, don't forget to meet me here right after school." Gordon reminded his little sister as he took her hand and walked into school. Most 7th graders would be embarrassed to be seen walking with their younger sibling, but Gordon knew how much it meant to Amelia and if it made her happy. Alan had already vanished into the school with his friends. He never much cared for public displays of affection with his siblings.

"I'll remember Gordy." Amelia answered as they reached her classroom and let go of his hand so that she could run over to her friends Diana and Shelby. "Hey, guys."

They both greeted her before Diana spoke "Why do you look like someone spit in your cereal?"

Amelia made a face at her "That's gross."

"Yes, but is a good way to describe your face right now." Shelby giggled. "What's up?"

"My father came home this morning." Amelia sighed sitting down heavily at her desk. "He just showed up out of the blue. It was…uncomfortable."

Diana sat at the desk next to her "I would have thought you'd be happy to see your Dad."

"Couple days ago you were crying at recess because he had missed another one of your gymnastics meets." Shelby pointed out.

It was true; Amelia had one of her biggest meets last Saturday and all of her brother had made it, even Alan who thought the sport was boring. She didn't know why she was so upset he missed it, he had never made it to any of her other completions, but a couple weeks prior it had come up in brief conversation with him. Most times Amelia didn't know what to say around him and her gymnastic was always a safe topic. He had expressed interest in going and to a seven year old that meant it was a sure thing that her father would be there.

Resting her chin in her hand, Amelia explained to her friends "I know, but I guess I just rather he not be around. Things are just weird when he's around."

"But Mia, he's your dad?" Shelby said.

"Yeah, but he's not like your guys' dads. I don't even know him." Amelia sighed, but then perked up. "But I have all my brothers, so I guess it's not so bad."

Diana smiled "There you go! You have more brothers then anyone I know!"

"I only have two brothers and they both stink." Shelby added.

Diana rolled her eyes "That's cause their babies Shelby."

"That's not excuse." Shelby laughed making the other two girls giggle along with her. "Seriously though when I told my parent I wanted a baby sibling I wasn't saying I wanted two."

The teacher then walked into the classroom and called the students to order. Amelia couldn't seem to keep her focus on the teacher, but her mind kept wondering to what going home would be like with her father there. There was always a tense feeling in the house when he was there. Everyone was either quiet, snappy, or just plain angry. At least if Grandma was home she could keep the peace. She was good at that.

Amelia's head began to hurt from just thinking about what waited at home and at times she felt like she couldn't breath.

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

"I got to say Scott I was surprised when you asked for this meeting." Mr. Dacosta, the school counselor, said sitting down at his desk across from Scott. "I thought you said you had made your decision concerning college for next fall."

"Yeah, I thought I had too." Scott started sitting straight in his chair. "But I've been thinking about another option lately."

"Which is?"

Scott rubbed the back of his neck "The Air Force."

"The Air Force huh?" the counselor repeated. "If I may ask… Why?"

"I want to help people." Scott explained. "I want to do more with my life. Actually my Dad was in the Air Force up until my brother John was born. I know it's not a job just anyone can do, but I believe I can."

"Well, it seems that you have put some thought into this." Mr. Dacosta said. "Why the hesitation then?"

" …" Scott wasn't sure how to phase this. "I've got five younger siblings and all of them depend on me. I can't just leave them. If I just went to the community college around here I can still live at home and take care of everything."

Mr. Dacosta leaned back in his office chair and took in the young man in front of him. He was somewhat aware of Scott's situation. The boy usually had anywhere from two to five siblings running around him and there was a prominent lack of parental support. The counselor had read in the Tracys' file that their mother was deceased, but he didn't think he had ever met Jeff Tracy, nor was he ever mentioned.

"It's a tough call Scott." He began. "I can't tell you what to do, just give you my advice."

"What's your advice?"

"Well, the way I see it is that at some point you have to get on with your life, because at some point your siblings are going to get on with theirs and what are you going to do then? I understand you feel responsible for them- you're the oldest it's only natural. It might even be a scary thought for you, the idea of leaving them, but you have to trust that you've taught them to be independent enough to survive without you. I know for a fact that John, or even Virgil, are smart enough to handle it." then added "Scott if this is your dream then go for it, because what kind of example would you be setting if you settled for anything less."

Running his hand through his hair Scott thought hard about the advice. "Your right, ."

"But?"

"But I just don't want them to think I'm abandoning them like our Dad did."

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

Amelia sat on the bench just outside the school as she waited for John to pick them up. Gordon hadn't come out yet and was beginning to wonder where he was. She was impatient to leave; it had not been a good day. The teacher had notice her lack of attention in the classroom and had got upset with her. She now a slip of paper in her backpack that need to be signed by her guardian.

She then saw Alan walk out of the building with a few of his friends. "Allie! Allie!" she called out running over to him.

Stiffening at the sound of his little sister's voice Alan pretended not to hear her, but Amelia continued over anyway.

"Hey, Alan." One of his friends said. "You got a shadow." And pointed to the little girl standing behind Alan.

With a loud huff he turned to his sister "What do you want Mia?"

"Have you seen Gordon?" she replied crossing her arms. She knew Alan didn't like it when she talked to him in front of his friends, actually he didn't like it when she talked to him period.

"No, I haven't." Alan said before turning back to his friends. "Go away."

"But Alan-"

"Go away" Alan snapped back at her. "God, you can be such a pest sometimes."

The little girls face went red as the other boys stared at her, but she knew better then to cry in front of the older boys. She turned, without saying another word, and walked back to her spot on the bench. Her chest began to feel tight again as she let out a few dry coughs before a red haired boy plopped down next to her.

"Hey, munchkin." Gordon greeted.

Amelia looked down at her shoes "Hi, Gordon."

Gordon could tell something was bothering her "What with the frown?"

Amelia shrugged "Nothing, it's just been a long day." She let out another couple of coughs and rubbed her neck.

That's when Gordon took a closer look at his sister and noticed how pale she looked. "You feel alright? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." She shrugged again. She didn't feel like talking, but Gordon wasn't the brother to take the hint.

"Okay, just checking." There was a moment of silence before Gordon spotted John's car pull up to the curb. "There's Johnny. Come on."

Amelia stayed a couple steps behind Gordon as they walked up to the car and got into the back seat.

"Sorry, I'm a little late." John said pulling away from the school. "I had a test run late. How was school?"

"It was school. It's the same as it always is." Gordon answered.

John rolled his eyes "How about you munchkin?"

When Amelia didn't respond he looked at Gordon who said "I don't think she's feeling very well."

"I told you I feel fine!" she snapped looking up at her two brothers.

"You don't need to yell Mia. We were just asking." John said sternly looking back at her.

With a quiet apology Amelia resumed looking out the window. For most of the ride Gordon continued to chatter to his older brother about his day and John closely listened, but still kept an eye on his sister.

It was a thirty minute drive to the athletics building where they trained three times a week. Gordon was nearly jumping in his seat as they pulled up. Getting out he waited for Amelia to get out of the car, but she made no move.

John sighed and looked to his brother "Go on, we'll be there in a minute. You don't want to be late." Once Gordon entered the building John turned in his seat to look into the back. "Okay Mia, what's going on? You're usually pulling my arm out to get to practice."

"I just don't feel like practicing today."

John ran his hand over his face. He had a feeling this had something to do with their Dad showing up today and he knew pushing her would only make her angry.

So he thought of another solution. "How about you hang out with me while we wait?" Since it was such a long drive, John usually hung around the building and did homework or something. "Come on munchkin, I'll buy you a candy bar from the vending machine?"

This got a slight smile out of her as she turned to look at him. "Alright." Amelia really didn't feel like talking and she knew John wouldn't push.

-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-

When John, Gordon, and Amelia entered the house the first thing they noticed was how erie silent it was.

"Guys!" Gordon yelled into the house causing both John and Amelia to cringe.

Scott came around the corner from the kitchen "Shhhh." He hissed. "Dad's here and he's in the office working."

This was code among the Tracy siblings that they had to be absolutely quiet so to not to disturb him. Disturbing him was like poking the bull; do it at your own risk.

John gave his older brother a knowing look and nodded to their little sister. Scott looked down at her; she still had hold of John's hand, but didn't seem to be aware of anything around her. Looking back up at John, Scott cocked his head, but the blonde brother just shrugged.

Scooping Amelia up into his arms Scott asked her "Hey how was practice today?"

She didn't answer, but she did wrap her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. For some reason she felt exhausted.

"She wasn't feeling well." John answered for her. "So we hung out while we waited for Gordon."

Scott brow crinkled. Amelia had seemed fine this morning. "Mia? You feeling okay?" and put his hand on her forehead to check for fever.

Bushing his hand off she replied "My head hurts a little."

"Yeah?" Scott said. "How about you lay down until dinner? You'll feel better after you rest and eat something."

The only reply she gave was a nodded as she pulled herself closer to him. This was a clear sigh to the eldest sibling that she really wasn't feeling well. So he carried her up to her room and got her comfortable. He would be back after starting dinner to check on her.

It had only been about thirty minutes when someone knocked on her door. She hadn't been able to fall asleep so Amelia got up to see who it was. She opened the door to an angry looking Alan.

"What?" she said rubbing her eye. The pain in her head and the tightness of her chest had not gone away.

"Have you been in my room?" he asked rather harshly.

Confused she responded "What? No."

"Then why are all the papers on my desk I had organized for my project all messed up?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do!" Alan yelled so that it echoed through the hallway. "I caught you in my room last week doing the same thing!"

"I didn't do it!" she yelled back at him. Her heart began to pound heavily in her chest.

"How many times I have I told you not to touch my stuff?!" his voice rose with every word.

Amelia held on to the frame of her door as she grew lightheaded, but still managed to say "I didn't touch your stuff this time. I swear!"

As the argument continued to grow louder a door from down the hall banged opened and the father staked up to them.

"Why are you two yelling?" Jeff asked sternly. They had just interrupted an important phone call.

Alan was so frustrated that he didn't register the anger in his father's voice because he kept up his rant. "Mia keeps going in my room and messing up my stuff and I'm sick of it! I'm sick of her!"

Gordon, who had heard the yelling from his room, stepped out into the hall just as Alan yelled his last insult. Gordon was the closest with Alan, but Amelia was his baby sister. He immediately stepped in. "Alan! That's out of line!"

"Mind your own business!"

"Everyone quiet NOW!" Jeff shouted, his patience had snapped.

All three children froze and stared up at their father.

"I have had just about enough of this!" he continued to scold growing louder. "I am in the middle of work and don't have time for screaming children in my house! Especially over such petty problems-!"

As their father reprimanded them, none of them noticed Amelia breathing became labored as she gripped her door frame tighter. Her heart was racing and it scared her. She couldn't take in a full breath and the world seemed to close in around her. Her father's yelling was the only thing making it through to her. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe all together.

Scott and John had raced up the stairs just in time to see Amelia collapse on the floor.

"Amelia!" Scott's heart jumped as he saw his little sister go down and ran over to her, kneeling next to her.

Everyone had gone silent with the shock of what was happening. Alan, Gordon, and John all stayed where they were. The only noise was the wheezing noise coming from the seven year old girl on the ground gasping for air.

"She can't breathe!" Scott spoke trying to keep the fear from his voice as he looked up at his father.

Jeff dropped down across from Scott, his eyes frantic with worry as he watched his daughter struggle for air. Firmly, he held her tiny hand in his and took out his phone, dialing 911.

"I need ambulance." He told the person on the other end. "My daughter she's hardly breathing."

 **Wow, so yeah, longest chapter yet and it's not even over yet! Can you feel the feels coming? Hope you guys enjoyed it; please let me know if you did! Reviews are like writing crack to me. Part two should be up soon! Also check out my Tumblr (link on my homepage) for sneak peeks and more!**

 **Until next time my loves….**


	5. UPDATE

**UPDATE!**

Well, I'm not dead! And I'm back! Sorry for being horrible at updating and ignoring these stories. My life has change drastically since I published the last chapter. I went back to school and I found out my Dad has Early-Onset Alzheimer's (which was a total shock being that he is only 54 and has brought out more of my anxiety and depression that I struggle often with). Those things take up a lot of my time, but I finally have a summer off from school and I am dedicating it to getting my stories back in line. I love to write, and I love these stories. Thank you to all who have stuck with me through this.

So… all that all being said, here is the game plan!

 **This is My City** is getting revamped! This means though that in the next couple of days I will be deleting it. Good news is that I have gone back and reedited the story (don't worry the story is basically the same, but better).

 **The Family Tracy** will be stay up for now. Once I get This is My City all sorted out I will go back to revamp that one as well.

 **My Tumblr** is still up ( ). Go check it out for updates, sneak peeks, more author notes, character pictures and profiles, and more!

So, stay turned for updates in the next couple of days and big changes coming. Again, thank you all for being so supportive and helpful while I try and put my life back together!

Until next time, my loves…


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